I've wanted to see this ever since I saw clips of it on Jonathon Ross's "Japanorama" show on BBC3 several years ago. I guess you'd class it as Anime but it was clearly made with a Western audience in mind as most signs and numbers are written in English (Although I did see a poster written ... Read review
Like a dream,Howl's Moving Castlecarries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations ... more
where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million,Howlpassed Miyazaki'sPrincess Mononok...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Like a dream,Howl's Moving Castlecarries audiences to vistas beyond their imaginations ... more
where they experience excitement, adventure, terror, humor, and romance. With domestic box office receipts of over $210 million,Howlpassed Miyazaki'sPrincess Mononok...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki Japan's premier animator and co-founder of Studio ... more
Ghibli takes viewers on an amazing animated adventure that celebrates the power of love to transform and the resiliency of the human spirit in the face of adversi...
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Howl's Moving Castle is the latest masterpiece from Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. ... more
It follows the story of young Sophie Hatter, a girl destined to lead a dull life as a hat maker. Sophie resigns herself to her fate, but fate has other plans for...
Howl's Moving Castle is the latest masterpiece from Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. ... more
It follows the story of young Sophie Hatter, a girl destined to lead a dull life as a hat maker. Sophie has resigned herself to her boring fate, but fate has other plans for her.Sophie's life is thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome yet mysterious wizard named Howl. Subsequently transformed into a 90 year-old woman by the wicked Witch of the Waste, she embarks on an incredible odyssey to lift the curse, and finds refuge in Howl's magical moving castle.Based on the book by Welsh author Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle is a magical tale of adventure and imagination.
A new look for one of Diana Wynne Jones' funniest and most popular novels. In the land of ... more
Ingary where seven league boots and cloaks of invisibility do exist Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell. Deciding she has nothing more to lose she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite they say is satisfied only by the souls of young girls! There she meets Michael Howl's apprentice and Calcifer the Fire Demon with whom she agrees a pact. But Sophie isn't the only one under a curse - her entanglements with Calcifer Howl and Michael and her quest to break her curse is both gripping - and howlingly funny!
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
A new look for one of Diana Wynne Jones' funniest and most popular novels. In the land of ... more
Ingary where seven league boots and cloaks of invisibility do exist Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell. Deciding she has nothing more to lose she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite they say is satisfied only by the souls of young girls! There she meets Michael Howl's apprentice and Calcifer the Fire Demon with whom she agrees a pact. But Sophie isn't the only one under a curse -- her entanglements with Calcifer Howl and Michael and her quest to break her curse is both gripping -- and howlingly funny!
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Advantages: Looks great Disadvantages: Runs a little too long really
I've wanted to see this ever since I saw clips of it on Jonathon Ross's "Japanorama" show on BBC3 several years ago. I guess you'd class it as Anime but it was clearly made with a Western audience in mind as most signs and numbers are written in English (Although I did see a poster written in German & some boxes labelled in what looked like French).
You don't need the subtitles switched on as there is English dialogue but ... ...differ from the spoken English dialogue in grammar and structure, not all translations are exact either.
The look of the movie is very much like something from the mind of animator Terry Gilliam, especially the castle on legs striding across the rural countryside. Its very much like something he'd have thought of. It's difficult to know what time period the movie is supposed to be set in seeing Cavalrymen on Horses but steam powered ... more
I've wanted to see this ever since I saw clips of it on Jonathon Ross's "Japanorama" show on BBC3 several years ago. I guess you'd class it as Anime but it was clearly made with a Western audience in mind as most signs and numbers are written in English (Although I did see a poster written in German & some boxes labelled in what looked like French).
You don't need the subtitles switched on as there is English dialogue but the subtitles were clearly translated from Japanese as they do differ from the spoken English dialogue in grammar and structure, not all translations are exact either.
The look of the movie is very much like something from the mind of animator Terry Gilliam, especially the castle on legs striding across the rural countryside. Its very much like something he'd have thought of. It's difficult to know what time period the movie is supposed to be set in seeing Cavalrymen on Horses but steam powered Trams, Trains, Steam Cars & Sedan Chairs too.
It appears the lead character of the film is Sophie who works in a millinery shop (thats hats to you philistines) and we start off meeting her leaving work, being rescued from the over amourous attention of 2 soldiers by a chap who not only seems to know Jedi Mind tricks but can also fly and is being chased by evil black ectoplasmic creatures.
Sophie discusses her encounter with her sister Lettie and they also discuss Howl (he's clearly a Wizard and everyone thinks he's evil and eats womens hearts), returning to the Shop Sophie has a spell cast on her by The Witch Of The Wastes which turns her into an old women. She avoids her mother and leaves town rescuing a scarecrow which repays her with a walking cane and helps her to find shelter, inside Howls Moving Castle. A bit like the Tardis, even though its moving the inside of the castle always remains stationary as though it were a normal static dwelling.
This is obviously a world where magic is totally normal (as Sophie wasn't surprised by a magical scarecrow) as meeting a Fire Demon called Calciifer didn't even seem to phase her, it seems Howls Castle is even more like the Stargate as it is able to be static yet its front door and exterior can be in many different locations at once (Actually it seems to be based on the Terry Pratchett idea of Wandering Shops).
All of the callers seem to think different Wizards live there but none think it is Howl. We discover the man who saved Sophie is of course Howl (who can't be that great a wizard if he doesn't recognise someone under an spell) and to remain close to him she pretends she is his new cleaning lady.
We also discover (thanks to Howl) that Sophie appears as a normal girl when she sleeps. One thing can be said for certain, this is a world where several cities or countries are involved in a war (with flying battleships and iron ships that look like US Civil War steamers) but even the Witch Of The Waste seems to have a Tardis-like Sedan chair, definately bigger on the inside.
It's rather strange that whilst talking to the Kings Head Sorceror Sulliman (a mistranslation surely as she is clearly female) that Sophie briefly transforms into her younger self whilst making an impassioned speech on Howls behalf. Sulliman had also taken all the magic from The Witch Of The Waste and tried to trap Howl who saves Sophie.
Sophie escapes back to the castle and wakes up but is still young, checking on Howl she tells him she loves him. When he rejects her she becomes old again but it is difficult to know if that was a dream or not. Afer using Calcifer to move the Castle it also completely reconfigures and repairs the interior (again like another aspect of the Tardis, able to add new rooms), Sophie also appears to get younger again when Howl takes her into his secret garden.
From what I could understand Sophie gets younger when she acknowledges her feelings of love for Howl. Sophie is visited by her mother (who was forced to leave a spying bug by Sulliman) but it is destroyed by The Witch Of The Wastes using Calcifer to burn it but it leaves him weakened and unable to protect the house from invasion and bombing.
So many of the images of flying ships and burning birds remind of Battle Of The Planets (Gatchaman) it made me wonder if the maker of this had seen the cartoon as a child. Trying to help Howl Sophie removes Calcifer from the castle which destroys it but he is able to reconfigure it only smaller when she returns him and gives him her hair.
The Witch Of The Wastes manages to ruin everything removing calfifer from his hearth forcing Sophie to throw water over her to stop her catching fire which destroys most of what is left of the castle. Sent back into Howls childhood Sophie discovers it is Calcifer who takes Howls heart and keeps him enchanted as a shape shifter, taking Howl back to what is left of the castle Sophie gives Howl his heart back which frees calcifer but destroys the castle.
The magical scarecrow saves them from certain death and she kisses him which releases him from a spell, he turns out to be a missing Prince who can stop the war. Sulliman also stops the war using her royal contacts and calcifer repairs the castle and Sophie and Howl fly off into the sky.
It's an odd ending to an odd but sweet film which is apparently very loosely based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones, the film is just under 2 hours long but I think it could be cut by about 20 minutes as it is just too long in places.
atytyut2434 03.01.2009 (03.01.2009)
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Review of Howl's Moving Castle (One Disc Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: Beautifully imagined and humane animation that respects its audience, whilst being accessible to all. Disadvantages: Occasionally the plot is a little disjointed, but it never really retracts...
...to feel immediate disappointment at Howl's Moving Castle. Immediate disappointment, I must admit, that is wholly unjustified. Sat in a Haymarket cinema, images unfolding before me, I enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle but was not as delighted as I had been by Spirited Away and years before by his earlier efforts Princess Mononoke or Porco Rosso. Then I bought the DVD and immediately wondered why I had not enjoyed it as much as I did sat slumped before ... ...to make sure you watch Howl's Moving Castle only in the original Japanese dialogue version. It's not as if the subtitles are particularly extensive. Miyazaki, thankfully, tells a very visual tale.
Miyazaki's follow-up to his breakthrough film (breakthrough into something closer to the mainstream, anyway) is nevertheless extremely charming and similar in parts to Spirited Away. Like so many of his films it concerns itself with an individual torn ...
No_name 03.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Howl's Moving Castle (One Disc Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: A feast for the Eyes Disadvantages: None
Howls Moving castle
==================
Introduction.
***************
Since her father passed away, Sophie has been working in her father's hat making shop. She is very bored.
Then one day she meets Howl.
The Movie.
*************
Sophie is out walking one day when chatted up by two soldiers, she is rescued by Howl. Some believe him to be a wizard, some a devil, but there can be no mistaking he certainly has odd powers.
He and Sophie are chased ... ...Sophie and the two of them float and walk on the air. He leaves her safely upon a veranda and draws the demons away.
Sophie is later attacked in her shop by the witch of the waste and turned from a beautiful eighteen year old into a ninety year old hag.
She goes off in search of Howl to see if he can help her.
This is where the movie actually starts…..
Along the way she meets turnip head the helpful scarecrow, a Fire demon, Heen the dog and young ...
Maximus-Qualitus 28.12.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Howl's Moving Castle (One Disc Edition) (DVD)
Advantages: An epic masterpiece from one of the all time greats Disadvantages: Not what westerners are used to
This is the latest movie from Hayao Miyasaki. This movie came out in 2005 in england a was not met with the same reception as "Spirited away" which won the oscar for best animated movie. I however think this movie is much better on many levels than " Spirited away". It was originally based on a novel as quite a few animated movies seem to be. The novel was written by Dianna Wynne Jones and Miyasaki adapted it for the big screen! You may have seen ... ...animater circles as on of the best animators of all time. He is quite old now and in ill heath so Howls moving castle may turn out to be his last masterpiece. So you should enjoy it!
The plot is in a word magical! The movie starts with a girl named Sophie who is around 18 in and works in a hat shop. As with many Miyasaki movies everything is set in a almost victorian world but with modern technologies or original aspects to it. Also it is worth ...
rob1001 14.08.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Howl's Moving Castle (One Disc Edition) (DVD)
Howls Moving castle
==================
A stunning colourful animated movie concerning love, magic and war.
We follow Sophie on an adventure from her sad lonely job of hat making into the 'Wastes' and on through the war torn cities and into magical kingdoms.
One day she meets 'Howl', the mysterious man with a walking castle that roams the lonely Wastes.He rescues her from the soldiers drops her off home and then disappears. Later she is attacked ... ...80 year old woman. She goes looking for Howl because he can help return her to normal. Along the way she will meet the fire spirit that powers the walking castle, young Markl and his dog Heen and the odd jumping scarecrow is directly involved in causing the whole war in the first place. (watch the movie)
Sophie will come to play a main part in ending the war even if it costs her very dear and so will Howl.
They will make surprising discoveries ...
MaldivesHoliday 02.02.2009
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Advantages: Excellent for all ages! Disadvantages: none that i know of
An amazing animation, suitable for all members of the family, from young to old and for all ages. this DVD was bought to my younger sister a year or so ago.So traditinally, we sat together as a family and watched it, at the end of the film, there was no body left without tears! it was a truely amazing film, like no other! until this day it remains my favaroute until now, whenever i feel upset or down i just automatically switch it on and sit there, ... ...and actually forget everything around me, a little shaming for an adult!! anyways, this film contains a lot of different genres including anime, fanstay, romance....... its a story based around this girl called sophie, who seems ordianary, looks ordinary and feels that her life is all based around her work as a hat maker. a day when she goes to see her sister that works in a bakery, two oldiers stop her and try to act overfeindl, which she is worried ...
mimi95 21.06.2009 (24.06.2009)
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OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT; ELEVATION SALES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Release date
01/01/2007
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
OPTD 0837
Screenwriter
Hayao Miyazaki
Barcode
5060034578949
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Aspect Ratio
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Digital
DVD Description
Acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapts British writer Diana Wynne Jones's popular fantasy tale for this animated feature, adding his own unique and celebrated dreamlike spin. The dreaded Witch of the Waste turns Sophie, a young hat-maker, into an old woman when she attracts the notice of Howl, a young wizard whom the witch desires for herself. As the old woman, Sophie finds refuge as a cleaning lady in Howl's magical castle, an impressively realised mishmash of anthropomorphic shafts and gears, where she meets, among other wonders, a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer. Howl's courage inspires her to seek a cure for her curse, and vice versa, and the two work together to prevent a major war as the castle roams the countryside on its mechanical legs. There's lots of magic afoot as well, including travel through barriers of space and time, and shape-shifting, requiring full viewer attention to keep track of who, where, and when, but this how dreams really are and the film engages on that same subconscious level. As with Miyazaki's previous work ('Spirited Away', 'Kiki's Delivery Service'), the emphasis here is on creating a beautiful alternate reality, where anything can happen and every frame is a breathtaking work of art.
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